The Hall effect is a phenomenon whereby moving charged particles are deflected by a magnetic field within a charge carrier. This phenomenon has been put to practical use in Hall effect sensors utilizing a current through a semiconductor. The preferable current path in the semiconductor is modified by magnetic fields through the wafer. By detecting the preferred current path, the direction and magnetic field through the semiconductor wafer may be determined.
In practice, many Hall effect sensors use silicon wafers doped to create N-type or P-type semiconductors. Vertical Hall effect sensors are so called because they are used to measure magnetic fields in the plane of the wafer. In practice, many vertical Hall effect detectors employ multiple Hall effect sensors on a single semiconductor substrate, in order to more accurately detect the direction and magnitude of a magnetic field passing through the substrate.